Friends Forever
by SHOW ME THE LURV
Summary: NOTE: this story will be left up, but it is incomplete and will never be complete. Read at your own risk! This is an LS&B fic. If you don't approve of Barrel being gay, OCs, LxS, or LS&B being older and playing the good guys, then don't read.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** After bringing Oogie Boogie back to life...again, the citizens of Halloween Town decide to send LS&B back to the Real World, where they are separated from each other. Before they're part, they promise that they will get back to Halloween Town somehow. Now, ten years later, they team up with a mysterious stranger, who's master informs them about a treacherous plot to destroy the Holiday Worlds. A story about love, trust, and how far a friend will go to help a friend in need.(rated T violence and/or adult situations) 

**Chapter 1- A Rough Start**

------ 'Oh man! i hope they're not too mad that i'm late,' I thought as i frantically raced down the alley. You'd be running fast too if you were an hour and a half late for plans that were made WAAAAAAAAAAAY in advanced (even if they were plans to meet in some secret bar that served to underage kids).

------ After making an extremely sharp turn at the end of the alley, I crashed into a fairly tall man. He looked like he was 19, approximately a year younger than me, with brilliant red hair and bangs that looked like devil's horns. He had on a red short sleeve shirt that allowed his toned arms to breath, and his loose-fitting jeans weren't doing a very good job of hiding his swaying tail.

------ Behind the devil-themed man was an even taller and lankier man who looked like he was about 18, and obviously had a thing for skeletons. He had an outfit of a black pair of pants and a black shirt with bones all over him that made him look like he really was a skeleton. I noticed dark blue-green hair sticking out from underneath his black hat with a skull on it. Both of my old friends had a look of surprise on their faces.

"I see you guys haven't changed your appearance much in the past ten years," I stated as i picked myself up from the ground. Even if one of the two men had offered to help me, I would have refused out of pure pride.

"No, but you sure have!" Lock, the one with the tail exclaimed. I was a little surprised that he was shocked(haha! pun!) by my appearance. I had always thought that I looked the same since the last time we saw each other; stringy hair, a rather plain body of average height, always adorning at least one purple item (along with my witch's hat), and a big nose. So, me being my usual forward-self, i went right out and asked him, "What are you talking about? I look exactly the same!"

"I have to agree with my brother on this one...you look A LOT different! But...in a good way..." Barrel, the one with the skeleton obsession, agreed. Which (if I remember my childhood correctly) was usually never...unless, of course, it was either an undeniable fact (i.e. 2+24) or hell had frozen over.

Barrel trailed off into own little world, searching for something from the distant past. He gave me another look-over and restated, "Definitely a good way!"

"Will you 2 just SHUT-UP about how i look?!" I shouted, now annoyed at the two idiots. "We are NOT here to discuss our latest fashion interests! We're here to try and figure out how we're going to get back to…Halloween Town!" My voice lowered at the mention of our old home.

------ If it were the 'good old days,' then one of the guys would have said something like, "Someone's touchy!" or maybe, "Man! I smell PMS in the air!" But, since it wasn't the 'good old days,' we all became lost in our own thoughts at the mention of that magical and mysterious place. My mind brought me to the day we made our pact; the day we were forced back to the Real World. We had promised each other that we would find a way back to Halloween Town no matter what the cost.

------ Barrel was the one that brought me back to reality. Everything seemed distant at first, almost like i really had left the Earth, but then my body adjusted and i heard the tail-end of what he said. It was enough to know what he was talking about.

"...Anyone got any ideas?" He asked a little too hopefully. I could tell that he did a lot of research, but with little proof to show it. I felt kinda bad that I hadn't found much either; especially since I'm a decendent of an ancient witch clan. i looked over at Lock, and saw the same depressed yet hopeful look on his face as Barrel.

"I know how y'all can get to Halloween Town," said a deep, dark, husky voice with a heavy southern accent.

------ i turned around and saw a person wearing a huge overcoat that reached the ground. He was quite short as far as height goes, and was wearing a brown hat that covered his face completely. I could only guess it was man by how their voice sounded, but that was all I had to go on.

------ i lunged forward and grabbed the collar of his overcoat as soon as i saw him and started the process of interrogation.

"How do you know about that place? Who sent you to spy on us?!" I slammed him against the wall he had been leaning casually on just seconds ago. "I want answers! NOW!"

------ The mysterious stranger remained as calm as ever while being thrown around. His simple answer was, "Ah was sent by mah Mastah. If y'all want details, ah suggest you come with me."

------ Lock, Barrel, and I huddled together and discussed our options.

Option#1: Follow him and hope he's telling the truth.

Option #2: Follow him, but have a weapon on him so we know he's telling the truth.

Option #3: Play it safe and don't follow him and continue our search for a portal on our own.

Or, Option #4: Beat him up so we know he's telling the truth(and for the fun of it ), and then follow him with a weapon on his back for DOUBLE the truth.

------ Being the trick-or-treaters that we were, we went with Option #4. Hey, we may have grown up, but that doesn't mean we still can't be rambunctious! The only weird thing about it was how his coat and hat never moved. Sure, he writhed in pain, but his clothes never seemed to give anything away as to who he was...

------ Anywho, he led us through alleyways, backyards, and dark streets, and finally, after what seemed like hours, he stopped at an old run-down factory. There was glass from broken windows everywhere, and the paint that had spelled out the factory owner's name had peeled off long ago.

------ Inside wasn't any better. There was a conveyor belt that loop-de-looped all around the building, but it looked like it hadn't been used in years. There were empty boxes all over the place, and the grey walls didn't help brighten the look of the building either.

"This is where your 'Master' lives? This place is a DUMP!" Barrel said rather bluntly. I had to agree with him, though. It wasn't the worst hide-out, don't get me wrong. It still beat ours by a long shot. It just wasn't necessarily what i had expected from this 'Master' guy, if it even was a guy.

"Yes, this is where he lives. Gotta problem with it?" our guide asked with a threatening tone.

"Not really. I just expected something a little bit more...extravagant, is all."

"Yeah, well-"

"Welcome to my humble abode!" said an oddly familiar voice. "It's a pleasure to finally see the famous Lock, Shock, and Barrel after all these years. Please, have a seat!"

* * *

A/N: Hey peeps! Now, before I continue, I need an okay from you, the viewer! So, go to the little box in the lower left hand corner, and TYPE IN SOME GODDAMN REVIEWS!!!!...Oh yeah:

Lock, Shock, and Barrel belong to the almighty and all-powerful Mr. Tim Burton(a.k.a. God)

The mysterious stranger and whoever the voice is belong to the even ALMIGHTIER and ALL-POWERFULLER moi!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I turned around and saw three plush, red and green chairs that weren't there before. My cohorts and I warily walked over to them. We circled, poked, prodded, but nothing seemed to be wrong with the chairs, so we each sat gingerly on them, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Ah, my sweet candy canes! So good to see you after all of these years! My, have you grown a bundle in these past ten years! Ho, ho, ho!" said the jolly voice. I still couldn't tell who it was, but, for some reason, his laugh stood out in my mind. It was deep, and full of joy and happiness, and it was clear it came from someone VERY old.

"Ten years…But that was the last time we were in Halloween Town…oops!" Barrel blurted.

"YOU BLABBER MOUTH! YOU BLEW OUR COVER!" I shouted at him.

"It's alright children, I'm from one of the holiday worlds too!" the voice cut in.

"Wait…you are? Oh that's right, we couldn't have know that since WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" Lock shouted impatiently.

"Oh! Where are my manners? So sorry, children! I'm Santa Claus! You used to call me 'Sandy Claws' when you first heard of me, though." The voice chuckled as the body of the voice came out of the shadows. He was an obese old man with a black boots and a tattered old hat. His red and white clothes were torn, and his beard had twigs and leaves in it. His bright brown eyes sparkled with hope, and his very presence emmited jollyness.

'So that's why his voice sounded familiar!' I thought to myself triumphantly, finally remembering that crazy Christmas. It was the first time I had ever heard about the holiday, and I was excited because Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, had sent my cohorts and me to go and kidnap Sandy. Once we had the old man, we took him to Oogie Boogie, our then employer, who was going to eat him! The thought kind of creeped me out, but my friends and I were interested, so we grabbed lots of snacks and watched the show. Sally, some rag-doll-corpse-girl, tried to save Sandy, but she was just captured too. Jack eventually came and rescued Santa and saved the day and we got in trouble, but I still enjoyed that night.

But, during my reminiscing, a thought occurred to me. Why was Sandy Claws in the Real World? And why were his clothes torn and his beard full of forest stuff? I decided to ask our old acquaintance, and he sighed in response.

"Terrible things have happened in the Holiday Worlds while you were gone. You're almost lucky that you were sent away! You see, a terrible ice witch named Vendetta cast a spell on all of the holidays worlds, making everyone except for the holiday leaders feel envious of everyone else. Eventually, a war broke out between all the holidays. All the holiday leaders were overthrown upon the grounds that we were too soft for wartimes. I haven't seen Jack, the Easter Bunny, Cupid, or any of the holiday leaders since then! That's actually why I sent Darryl to find you…so you could help…" Santa choked on his last words.

It was odd to see the usually optimistic man cry, but I could understand his grieving. Santa and the other holiday leaders had created a time of happiness; a sort of utopia, if you will. To see that all be destroyed by a single witch must have been devastating!

"Wait…who's Darryl?" Barrel asked.

"I'm Santa's right-hand elf. I helped him escape to the Real World. I'm also the one who you so kindly beat up earlier," Darryl responded. He had taken off his overcoat and hat and was leaning on a wall nearby, and, oddly enough, I found him quite attractive.

------He was taller than an elf should have been. A red hat, similar to Sandy's, but with white horizontal stripes, sat on top of his dirty blonde hair. His nose was slightly crooked, but suited him, and his sea-green eyes were captivating. His Herculean body was complimented by a torn red shirt, green pants, and white shoes that curled up at the bottom. A black belt with a gold buckle fit around his waist perfectly. He had the occasional bruise on his body, and I'm pretty sure they were from when we had beaten him up.

"Oh! There you are Darryl!" Santa said. He wasn't crying anymore and had cheered up considerably. Geez! Talk about bipolar!

"So, Santa…whadaya want US to do about this problem? I mean, we can't even find our way back to Halloween Town!" Lock said in a defeated voice. We all looked down in shame when he mentioned our failure to find our way home.

"No need to worry about traveling, my little holly berries!" Santa exclaimed, delighted that Lock had hinted we were considering the offer. "Darryl will help you on your journey! He knows his way to the Pools of Nowhere."

"The Pools of Nowhere? What the hell's that?" I asked, curious as to how much the old fatso knew about traveling from world to world.

"You all remember the circle of trees in the Hinterlands, right? The one with the holiday doors?" Santa asked us.

"Yeah. We tried looking for the forest, but we never found it…" Barrel responded, his face a mess of depression.

"Well, as you know, those aren't the only portals. I don't know about all of the portals that are out there, but I do know that the Pools of Nowhere lead to every world. And I mean this quite literally, too!"

We looked at each other, not too sure what to make of our situation.

"The Pools of Nowhere lie just beyond the edge of the world." Santa said so quietly, I had to strain my ears just to even barely hear him!

"Wait, I thought that the world was round." I said.

"No, no, that's a myth! Although, I can see where humans got the idea from. You see, humans can only travel so far, and their eyes can only see certain things. The edge of the world is cloaked by the horizon, and unless you're magic, you can't see past the cloaking. Humans lack this ability, so instead of reaching the edge of the world, they just keep traveling for days and days, when in reality, it only takes a few hours to get there!" Santa stated.

"So how are we gonna be able to get there? I know Darryl will be able to see past the cloaking, but we won't! After all, the 3 of us are human!" Lock said in a confused voice. But Santa had an answer for that, too.

"Well, Lock…if you're human, then why do you have a tail? And Shock…if you're human, then why can you perform magic? And what about you Barrel? If you're human, then how do you have webbed feet? And you all have such pale skin; you look like you're already dead! You all lived in Halloween Town so long, you adapted to your surroundings and gained the ability of magic!" Santa exclaimed.

The three of us scrutinized each other, looking for the details Santa had just mentioned. Much to my surprise, it was true; Lock DID have a tail, and Barrel DID have weird-shaped feet, and I COULD perform magic, and we DID ALL have a pale complexion! I guess I've known them for so long, I've just gotten used to these little facts about my friends. It was a comforting thought, though. The fact that our bodies knew we would someday get back home promised a bright future. The only thing that worried me was what we had to do to achieve this future.

"Sandy…as much as it flatters us that you chose us…what can we do? I mean, we don't know how much has changed in Christmas Town, we don't know anything about this 'Vendetta' or her weaknesses, and we don't even know if we're cut out for the job!" I cried. There was so much to take in, so much weight on our shoulders!

"Shock, I know it's a lot to handle, but I've watched each of you throughout the years. You've all been on my nice list for some time now, and I have faith in all three of you! My only hope is that you defeat Vendetta and restore peace in our holiday community! I know I can't ask you to find the other holiday leaders; it's just too much! But, promise me that if you do see them, tell them that Santa Claus says 'Good luck!'" and leaving us with those final words, Santa Claus disappeared into the shadows. That was the last time any of us would ever see the jolly old man.

Darryl ran to see if his master was still there, but when he came out of the shadows, he was shaking his head. He had a look of pure and utter shock on his face. How could he not? Sandy was his closest friend (I presume), and it's quite unusual for a close friend to just disappear out of the blue.

"Well…what do we do now?" Barrel asked, breaking the ice.

"I-I…I don't know…" Lock said, bewildered at what lay ahead.

"Whadaya mean 'you don't know'?! Our home is in danger, and all you two can do is just sit there! I don't know about you guys, but I care about Halloween Town! I'm going with Darryl to the Pools of Nowhere to save the holidays with or without you!" I said as I grabbed Darryl's arm and started walking towards the door while dragging him with me.

"Shock, please! I don't think we should be so irrational about this!" Darryl said, squirming under the force with which I held him.

"SHOCK! WAIT UP!" I heard from behind me just as I reached the door.

I turned around and saw Barrel and Lock running towards me as fast as they could. I waited where I was to let them catch up, and when they finally did, Lock said in between his panting, "We care…about Halloween Town…just as much…as you do!"

Barrel, who wasn't out of breath, said with a smile, "We may not know what's in store for us, but we do know that no one separates Boogie's Boys! Not even a Boogie Boy!"

I let go of Darryl, and stared at them in disbelief.

"Thanks guys!" I said with a smile. "You two are the best friends I could ask for! Oh! Before I forget…"

WHACK!!!

I had slapped Barrel clear across the face as I shouted, "I.WHACK am.WHACK not WHACK. a WHACK. BOY WHACK, WHACK, WHACK!!!!" Lock and Darryl were rolling on the ground, laughing their asses off as Barrel crept into a corner and assumed the fetal position. Pretty soon, we were all laughing, even Barrel, for that's what Boogie's Boys did; we laughed at pain!

And, Although it pleased me to know that my friends would be there to help in our mission, I still felt a twinge of sadness that I wouldn't get some alone time with Darryl. 'Oh well,' I thought. 'There'll be plenty of times for me to show him my girlish charm!'

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: I just wanna clarify some things before I continues. Shock is 20, the last time they saw each other was when she was 10.

Thanks to everyone that read this! I would've preferred if you commented, too, but at least you read it, right!?

Oh yeah! Santa, Lock, Shock, and Barrel all belong to Mr. T to the I to the M to the B! I thought that the whole 'portal pool' thing was mine, but someone told me it's from the first Narnia book…anyone know about that? Everything else…YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!!!(Though if you want to use an idea or 2, just check w/ me!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Our main problem was the fact that neither Lock, Barrel, nor I knew anything about this 'Vendetta' lady. Lucky for us, Darryl knew something about her. Actually, he knew a lot about her; almost as if he'd known her for a really long time. Not only that, but he would always grow nervous and fidgety every time she was mentioned. His normally sea blue eyes would always change to an icy blue, and his voice would start cracking. I decided to wave his odd behavior aside, and pinned it on nerves for the battle yet to come.

"Shock, were you listening to me?" he asked.

"Hmm?...Oh, yeah! Of course I was listening to you!" I said, breaking out of my day dream. I had been thinking aboutF Barrel, who always got all flustered and nervous when he was around Darryl. I'm kinda worried about him…

"Right…so, anyways. Vendetta's weaknesses are fire and love. Fire because she's an ice witch, and love because she hates any kind of caring emotion. Showing friendship will only slightly damage her, though, so only an act of pure love will seriously hurt her!" he said.

"Fire. Love. Got it!" I said.

"Soooo, Darryl…you got a girl-friend?" I asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"WHAT?!" he screamed.

"I asked you if you had a girl-friend!" I stated. "Well?"

"Umm…not really, no…Why?" he said nervously.

"Oh, no reason. No reason at all." I said as innocently as I could. He either bought my answer, or was too weirded out by what I had asked to continue the conversation.

So, after we had all of our food, supplies, and assorted fire-based-weapons packed, we had the problem of how we were going to get there. Barrel suggested we take a boat, but none of us owned one, and we couldn't take a cruise or something like that because of the humans that would be on it. Darryl tried using his magic to teleport us straight to the horizon, but he ran out of energy trying to get all four of us there. I suggested my broom, but Lock pointed out the fact that it was too small for 4 people. Lock suggested we try swimming the distance, but I hit him on the head with my hat. My god, he can be stupid!

"Shit," Barrel said as he paced around the first floor of the factory(our temporary living quarters), trying to think.

"No kidding!" Darryl said while sitting on one of the green and red chairs Santa had poofed up for us during our 'meeting.'

"HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET THERE!!!" Lock screamed in frustration, also sitting on one of the green and red chairs.

"I got it!" I yelled, slamming the book in my lap closed.

The boys started an excited chorus of, "Tell us! Yeah, come on! Don't hold out on us!" I simply smirked, with a dangerous look in my eyes. I knew my plan was risky, but it was worth a shot.

"Alright, I'll tell you! This book here-" I held up the one I'd just closed"-is an ancient spell book. And, while I was looking through it, I found this spell that allows you to freeze salt water. I'm pretty sure I can do it. I mean, it looks simple enough...So maybe I could use it to make a path for us!" I said, very proud of my revelation.

My friends just gaped at me. Barrel's voice squeaked, "You mean…we'd be walking across the ocean!?"

Darryl just exploded. "Wouldn't a human see us?! I mean, it's not necessarily the most normal thing for them to see!" But I had an answer for him.

"I've thought about that too! But, as I was thinking, I remembered a time spell that I'd picked up a little while back! One that would freeze time long enough for us to get away from civilization. I'll have to teach it to you though, Darryl. I can't perform two spells at the same time! I'd run out of energy too fast, and then we'd be stranded in the middle of the ocean."

Lock, who up until then had just been standing there with his mouth wide open staring at me, broke out of his stupor. "Wait, wait, wait…back up! You mean to tell me that if Darryl screws up, then the humans see us, and we're stuck here, trying, and most likely failing to explain the situation without giving up the secret of the Holiday Worlds? And if you screw up, we'd be stuck in middle of the ocean with no one to save us, and dangerous creatures on all sides?!" he said in a panicky voice, his right eye twitching.

"Well…if you wanna put it in that way…I suppose you're correct…" I said, trying to evade his question.

Silence took over as we all considered this option. Lock **was **right, though. If we screwed this one up, we'd all die, and all of the holidays would cease to exist. Suddenly, I heard Barrel's voice speak.

"I think we should give it a shot!"

He walked to the center of the room and thrust his hand forward. Darryl stood up and went to him, putting his hand on top of Barrel's.

"I agree with Barrel!" Darryl said enthusiastically. Lock stood up and followed suit of the other two.

"Birds of a feather!" he said, putting his hand on top of Darryl's. I followed suit of my friends and kept my head down, my hat covering my teary eyes.

"Now and forever!" I said softly.

* * *

"MOMMY!!!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!!!!" Barrel screamed, hugging himself and running around in circles. 

"OW! Will you just shut up?! You're hurting my ears!" Lock said, rubbing his now red ears.

"Guys, shut-up! Darryl hasn't even frozen time yet!" I scolded. We were standing on the water's edge, and Darryl was preparing to cast the time spell. We each carried our own bags on our shoulders, and we each had ice-skates on our feet. Darryl had taught us how to ice-skate this past week since it would be faster than walking.

Once Barrel was done freaking out, I went over the plan with them again. You have no idea how truly stupid those two can be! "Now guys, once Darryl casts his spell, wait for me to freeze the water. Darryl, the spell will hold by itself, so you can go with Barrel and Lock as soon as I'm done. But remember; the time spell only works for 2 hours, so we have to move quickly!" They all nodded solemnly. I heard Darryl start talking, and I knew there was no more time to prepare. It was now or never.

"Tick and Tock, lords of time  
Please, listen to this rhyme.  
A small amount we do request,  
So help us freeze the sun in the west."

All of a sudden, the sun flew from east to west, and paused just as it was about to disappear. A beautiful sunset now met our eyes, and I stared in awe at what had just occurred.

"Alright Shock, do your stuff!" Darryl said, moving closer to the water. I closed my eyes and focused my own energy. Everything turned a greenish-purple, and I felt a breeze start to blow all around me. I opened eyes, which now glowed a mint green, and chanted,

"Spirits of Poseidon; lend me your ears.  
Leave behind all of your fears.  
By ice we intend to reach our goal.  
Imitate your brethren from the north and south pole."

A huge gust of wind started up as soon as I finish my last word, and the wet sand in front of me slowly turned to ice. As I cautiously walked toward the water, the ice continued forming in front of me. I took another, more confident step, and I smiled an evil smile. I raced ahead of my friends, turning our adventure into a race.

After an hour's worth of weaving in and out of each other, I was fairly ahead of my friends, so I looked back to see how much space we had covered. To my amazement, the pier we had left behind was barely visable. I faced frontward again, and noticed the sun had gotten a little larger than what it was at the harbor. My friends skidded to a stop behind me as they came to the same realization I had just come upon; we were actually getting somewhere!

We spent the next half hour gliding along in silence. Then, out of the blue, I saw Lock skating right beside me! He was giving me a weird look; not a creepy weird, but a 'I'm way too happy to be Lock' weird.

"What's wrong?" I sighed.

"Hm? Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!" he said quickly, almost nervously. He blushed and looked away, and it was my turn to give him a weird look.

I started wondering why he was acting so strange, but something interrupted my thoughts. The ice beneath my feet felt soft; too soft to support me. Suddenly, a cold feeling surged through my body. My lungs were constricted, and my clothes felt ten times heavier than they were. I tried gasping for breath, but all I got was a mouthful of salt water. Everything started to turn black; a cold, unfeeling, unforgiving black that meant the end of this adventure called life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

You know how when you're about to die, your life is supposed to flash before your eyes? Yeah, well, I only saw one part of my life. The day that Jack sent us back to the Real World.

It wasn't like my vision blurred, and everything became wavy. No, it was more like I had just woken up from a dream. At first I could only hear voices. Lock was screaming, "NOOOOO!!!!! YOU CAN'T MAKE US GO!!!!!!" Slowly, my eyesight cleared, and the memory of that fateful day from my childhood played out before me.

I saw Lock digging his nails into the graveyard's dirt, his tail in Jack's left hand. Barrel and I were in Jack's other arm, writhing under his cold, bony grip.

"I told you, Lock, the town voted on you three going home, so I have to take you!" Jack grunted, pulling harder on Lock's tail. Barrel and I tried slowing Jack down, but our efforts seemed futile.

"Jack, please, PLEASE don't make us go back to the Real World!" I pleaded. "Our home IS Halloween Town!"

"Yeah! We love it here!" Barrel agreed, squirming to be at least a little comfortable under Jack's strong hold.

"I'm sorry, children, but everyone agrees that you three are just too much trouble!" Jack sighed, stopping in front of a huge mausoleum.

My cohorts and I wailed, sobbed, screamed, whined, ANYTHING to get Jack to change his mind. But the old boneman remained as steadfast as always and simply rolled his eye sockets at us.

"Okay, I know you three are upset, but making such a cacophony gets you nowhere. All it does is deprive you of your dignity!" Jack growled, officially annoyed at us.

But we ignored him, and continued making noise of such monstrous proportions, that Jack had to stick a lolly in each of our mouths to shut us up.

"Now look, it's not that I don't want to keep you three here. In fact, I would LOVE to have you guys join in next Halloween's affairs; you'd be such good scares!"

"I'm not a guy, I'm a girl…" I mumbled underneath my breath. Jack ignored me and continued his lecture.

"But, you worked for Oogie Boogie, and no one in town feels they can trust you. Perhaps sending you to the Real World is a little drastic, but it's what the town wants as a whole, and I can't go against everyone without starting a mob scene! I wish it didn't come down to this, but I'm going to have to send you through that mausoleum back to where you originally came from."

We weren't going to buy that crap, and Jack knew it! I, being the smart one of our trio, brought the old boneman back to reality. "Jack, we've lived in Halloween Town for, what, eight years now?" I started, my voice muffled a little by the lolly in my mouth. "We may have come from the Real World, but we've only lived there for one year! One year, Jack! And that was when we were infants! None of us remember anything from the Real World; their lifestyle, what's their norm, nothing! We don't even remember what it looks like! Yet you expect us to pop out of a random mausoleum, find ourselves a home, and live a successful life there knowing that there's a world better than that?"

He just remained silent. I hadn't really known it at the time, but what I'd said sent Jack into a never-ending spiral of doubt. So, instead of facing his one fear, he simply tossed open the mausoleum, threw us into the leering darkness, and waved a sad, bony hand in farewell.

We remained silent for a long time, the wind whistling around us, my right hand keeping my hat on my head. Barrel's voice was what broke the looming silence. "Lock, Shock…" We swam towards each other in the air. "No matter what happens, promise that we'll be friends!"

"You bet your ass!" Lock said. We grabbed hands, gripping each other tightly.

"And…let's make a pact!" I said. "Let's agree to find some way back to Halloween Town!"

"Yeah! I don't care when it happens, just as long as we get home!"

"I don't know if I could live without the scares!"

"Alright, then! Put your hands in the middle."

We each did so, and said together, "In the name of all that's good and scary, we will find a way back to our beloved Halloween Town!"

And, just as suddenly as it had enveloped me, the darkness faded. I opened my eyes, but everything was blurry. I coughed, and tasted the disgusting mix of salt and fish. I tried opening my eyes again, but this time everything was clearer. Now, a masculine face came into view. It looked so familiar, but my vision was so blurry, I just couldn't place my finger on who it was. I felt someone shaking me, and the face was saying a name that also sounded familiar.

"Shock, please, PLEASE wake up! Come on Shock, this isn't funny anymore! SHOCK!!!"

And then everything clicked. My memory came rushing back to me, as did my vision and oxygen. I felt a freezing chill envelope my body as I shivered on the cold ice.

"L-Lock…?"I mumbled softly, my teeth chattering. "Wh-what's wrong? Are you…c-crying?"

I sat up abruptly, but regretted this action soon after. I felt like screaming because of my massive headache, and my chest burned with every beat of my heart.

"OW!!!" I screamed, clutching my head with one hand and leaning on the other.

"SHOCK!!!" My three comrades shouted. Barrel and Darryl cheered in happiness, and Lock, who was sitting next to me, wiped his eyes. And then…I surprised myself! I wrapped my arms around Lock and gave him a big hug, collapsing onto his body, but not before quickly pecking his cheek. He hugged me back, and whispered into my ear, "Thank god you're alright!"

I opened my eyes in time to see a smug Darryl give a shocked Barrel a look that said, 'I told you so!' Hastily, I got up, pulling my hat down to cover up my blushing face.

"Come on, guys!" I said quietly. "We've still got a long way to go."

I picked up my now soaking bag that I'm guessing Lock saved when he saved me, and skated far ahead, ignoring the now fading headache. But, Barrel WAS one of the better skaters in the group. So, he caught up to me, and gave me a quizzical look.

"Hey, Shock," he said slowly. "I thought you liked Darryl?"

"Was it that obvious," I said, embarrassed at my recent behavior.

"No, no…it's just a gay thing! We can tell, just like a girl can tell if another girl likes a guy!" I stopped short. Luckily Barrel and I were so far ahead, we had some time to stop without being over heard.

"Back up…YOUR GAY?!" I gasped in a whispery voice. After all, Barrel had left this key fact of his life quiet, and I was curious.

"Well, yeah. I thought you knew? I mean, the signs were everywhere!"

"NO! HOW THE FUCK COULD I HAVE KNOWN! YOU NEVER TALK ABOUT IT!!!"

"Umm…that's beside the point! You're evading my question! Do you like Darryl or Lock?"

I sighed, trying to buy myself some time. But then I decided that I had to confess to SOMEONE. "I like them both! You see, Darryl's cute, and smart, and funny, and he's got that whole 'mysterious' factor going for him. But, I've known Lock so much longer, and I feel I can trust him more. I don't know who I like more, or even if either of them likes me back! I'm just really confused right now…"

Then, Barrel did the strangest thing. He started laughing. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed. He was doubled over, he was laughing so hard! I nervously looked behind us to see Lock and Darryl catching up with us, and fast! So, I dragged Barrel to his feet, and got us on the move again. He calmed down eventually, although he still chuckled every once in awhile.

"Honey, I've got the answer to all your problems! In fact, it'll make your life a whole lot easier! You see, DarryyyyyyyYYYYYYL'S-"

Sadly, Barrel never finished his sentence. Instead, he was sent tumbling into the mirage that mortals know as the horizon. Lock and Darryl skidded to a stop next to me and gazed in wonder at where Barrel had just fallen through.

You see, it's not like he just crashed into a picture that tore to shreds once he collided into it. No, it was more like a picture that had swallowed him whole. The only evidence of him was small ripples starting where he fell through.

My friends and I exchanged nervous glances, hoping that our other comrade wasn't hurt. I gulped hard, and…pushed the other two in before me with a small smirk on my face.

"YOU BITCH!!!" Lock screamed his voice fading as he fell through the picture. The ripples appeared again, only this time they started where Lock and Darryl had fallen.

I said a little prayer, shouldered my damp bag higher, and dove into the picture. All I could do was hope that what met me on the other side was the Forest of Nowhere.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to everyone who apposes me on the whole 'Barrel's gay' thing. I have many different theories on each of the trio, so don't resent me!! THERE! YOU HAPPY!? Ahem…excuse me for that…on with the disclaimer!

I only own Darryl and the plotline. Tim B. owns…well, everything else!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

"SHIT!!!" was my basic thought as i fell through the portal. Note to self: not smart to dive into ANYTHING head-first!

In case you were wondering, which i doubt you were, here's what happened: i had dove head-first (i will repeat myself. not smart) into the horizon, and ended up falling flat on my face. i WOULD have landed safely on Lock and/or Darryl, but they scrambled away when they saw me falling from the sky. Hmm...i wonder if my skirt flew up...i'll have to ask Barrel about that...

Anyways, after i picked myself up from the ground, i took a look at my surroundings. i half expected a forest, and it kinda was one...sort of. It was a forest of pools. DON'T CALL ME CRAZY! It really was! See, you know how a forest has lots of trees and shrubs? Well, this place had lots of puddles, and with no scrimmaging on the amount and/or sizes! They ranged from being as big as an ocean to being as small as a drop of rain. And all of the3se stretched as far as the eye could see, possibly even farther! But, i couldn't tell. That was as far as my eyes could see.

"This is the Pools of Nowhere," Darryl stated.

"No, really? I thought it was the Forest of Ponies!" Lock said sarcastically.

I giggled at his comment, but quickly calmed myself down when Darryl gave Lock and i a serious look.

"What's his problem?" I whispered to Barrel.

"You idiot!" he hissed back. "Put yourself in his shoes! He's gotta tell Mrs. Clause that he didn't keep his promise of keeping Sandy Claws safe! Imagine how nervous he must feel! And the guilt! Talk about pressure!"

I was feeling a little guilty myself for being a little insensitive, so i quickly changed the subject.

"Sooo...what's with all the water?" i asked.

"Each pool holds a different world. The bigger the body of water, the bigger the world. Almost like how in the Hinterlands, it depends on how fat the tree is," Darryl responded with his strong Texan accent(forgot that now, didn'tcha!).

"Right...but where's our destination?" Lock asked impatiently. If i didn't know any better, i would've thought he sounded almost vitriolic.

"In the center of this whole...we'll call it 'forest' there are the holiday pools. Each community, whether it's a religion, a country, or something else, has its own cluster of pools that make their own shape. Both the Halloween and Christmas pools reside in the Christian Holiday shape, though i'm not necessarily sure why Halloween would be there since it's more of a community thing...But, that's neither here nor there."

"Wait, why'd you say 'shape?' I thought there were just circles?" Barrel asked.

"Well...umm...it's a little complicated...you'll see when we get there."

And with that, we headed north. Err...at least...what we thought was north. Our compasses didn't really work here, so we just kind of picked a direction and went that way.

* * *

"Guys, can't we take a 10 minute break? I'm STARVING!" Barrel whined.

"Dude, we've only been walking for a couple of hours!" Lock snapped.

"Yeah! And we don't even know if we're going in the right direction! It's best if we just keep going," Darryl agreed.

"But i'm HUNGRY!!! Come on, guys! JUST 10 FRIGGIN' MINUTES!!! PLEASE!!! I'M BEGGIN YOU!!!" Barrel yelled, getting on his knees and clasping his hands together.

"Let's just do it! I don't wanna hear that thing whining all day, or night, or whatever it is here!" I barked. By the way, did i mention that there's no sun, moon, stars, or anything else that has to do with the cosmos around here? Yeah, it's just gray. All the time. And it's just water and some rocks. All the time. It was starting to annoy me, so i was even edgier than i normally am.

Regardless of whether it was day or night, we sat down on some rocks and pulled out some snacks. It wasn't much; just some granola bars (chocolate bars in Barrel's case), water (soda in Barrel's case), and some canned food (a turkey in Barrel's case...don't ask me how he got it in his bag!). Barrel scarfed down all of his chocolate bars in a matter of seconds, and i spotted him eying my granola bar as soon as he finished licking his fingers.

"You know, if you weren't a bottom-less pit, you wouldn't be begging for food!" I said while breaking off a piece of my snack to give to him. He looked like he was about to say something, but Darryl cut him off.

"What in bloody hell is that thing!?" I looked behind me to where he was pointing, and thought the same thing. Also, i wondered where the hell he picked up the phrase 'bloody hell.' i kinda liked it...

But, more importantly, i wondered what the thing that was approaching us was. It looked like a fox, but its ears, legs, and tail were replaced with fire. The tips of its orange fur were singed, and, instead of pupils, its eyes glowed a red that challenged the deep red of Lock's shirt. A silver chain-link collar was barely visible underneath the mass of fur on its neck.

An alarm went off in my brain, and i signaled my comrades to prepare for battle. This fox-thing didn't look too friendly, and it didn't look that easy to defeat either. Strangely enough, Darryl jumped behind the rocks we were sitting on instead of preparing his magic, almost like he didn't want the thing to see him...

The fiery fox stopped a couple of yards away from us, and calmly stood there. I think it was sizing us up, but its lack of pupils made it a little hard to tell.

"Well, well, well. This is who Vendetta sent me to destroy; a bunch of weak children who've barely fought a battle in their lives. Pathetic. And here i thought i was going to engage in a challenging battle! Such a disappointment." The thing taunted. Well, it didn't exactly open its mouth and say it. I definitely heard the masculine voice, and it wasn't one of my friend's voices, so it must've been the thing's voice...right?

"Did anyone else just hear an evil monologue? Cause i swear i did!" Lock asked, looking more than a little paranoid.

"Idiots! You've never even heard of telepathy!" the fire fox snarled.

"Who are you? You mentioned that you work for Vendetta...a minion of hers, perhaps?" i pondered aloud.

"Curious little brat, aren't you? Indeed, i do odd jobs for Vendetta. But on my own accord, mind you!" He added quickly at the end, making it a point that he was his own boss. He then continued to sigh, and said rather bluntly, "This is boring me. I think I'll destroy you all now."

Before i even had time to wonder what he meant, the fire fox had jumped onto me, like a cat would pounce on its prey, and it took all my might to keep his jaws from clamping down on my neck. Barrel tried approaching the Thing, but a whack from its tail just set him on fire. I look toward his direction and saw him using the stop, drop, and roll method to get the fire under control.

Meanwhile, Darryl had run from his hiding place, and busied himself with scooping water from various pools in his hands and pouring it on Barrel. If i wasn't in mortal danger, i'd be laughing my ass off!

Suddenly the fire fox jumped off of me, elegantly leaping over my head. Out of the corner of my eye, i caught a blob of grey crashing down on me. I rolled out of the way, only to see Lock, who'd picked up a rock and had tried to crush the Thing, forgetting that i was under it. I glared at him, and he replied with a sheepish look.

"HEEELP!!!" we heard Barrel cry, his voice extremely breathy.

Lock and i rushed over to Barrel, who was being held captive by the fire fox. See, its tail could apparently change shape, because Barrel, while Lock and i had had our silent argument, had been snatched up by the Thing's tail, and was now being crushed to death. The stench of burning flesh was heavy in the air, and it was clear that if we ever got out alive, Barrel was gonna need some serious treatment for his 3rd degree burns.

Meanwhile, Darryl (who was still undetected by the Thing) had run for cover, and i saw the puffball of his red and white hat disappear behind one of the over turned rocks. COWARD! He couldn't even attempt to help his friend!

So, Lock and i rushed to Barrel's aid instead. Unfortunately, we ended up trying to dodge a fiery medieval-based weapon; the thing's ears had fused together, and were now a gigantic mace. And, as Lock and i ran around like chickens without heads, trying not to be pulverized by this fire fox that was laughing sadistically at us, a very strange occurrence, well...occurred.

The attacks stopped. Barrel fell to the ground, his body limp, but his heavy breathing a sign that he was still alive.

While Lock and Darryl tended to Barrel's wound, i noticed a flash of red and blue clashing. I looked up in time to see a show down between the fire fox and a new arrival to the battle field.

The new monster was a wolf, only its ears, legs, and tail were sculpted out of ice. The tips of its white fur were high-lighted with blue, and its pupils were replaced with pure black. A gold chain-link collar was barely visible from underneath its mass of fur. If i didn't know any better, i would've thought that the 2...'animals' were related somehow.

As i stood on the sidelines, i sensed a gentleness that seemed to radiate from the ice wolf. It seemed calmer, more collected, more...pure-bred than the fire fox. I hoped that we had an ally in this ice wolf, because it was winning the battle with a bored look on its face, as if the fire fox was too easy a challenger.

Eventually i got bored myself, and whistled, causing everyone to look at me.

"Would someone care to tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!?!?!?! I screamed, my neck vain pulsing at a dangerous rate. The fire fox's eyes strayed slowly from me to Darryl, and it smiled a Cheshire grin.

"Hmm...i didn't expect you to be with them...Well now, a little drama to fix my boredom! It appears that there's more than one sibling rivalry going on here! Ta-ta for now, imbeciles!" He chuckled dryly, his body fading into a small flame that flickered out after a minute.

After a small, awkward silence, I said, "I'm gonna repeat my question...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!??!"

The ice wolf sighed, and approached us slowly, the sound of ice cracking every time it moved its legs.

"Let me just heal your comrade. Don't worry, i won't hurt him!" It coaxed, speaking via telepathy. Its melodic voice made it clear that it was a girl, and eventually her soft beckoning gained our trust. After we had a quick and quiet huddle, that is.

"I don't know, should we trust...her?"

"Why the hell not!? If she's against that fire thing too, then she's on our side!"

"Not so fast! She could be one of Vendetta's spies, and this whole fight thing was a trick to lour us to her!"

"Screw it! I say we just trust her! I mean, come on! All she wants is to help Barrel!"

In the end, Darryl and i sat close to her as she filled all of Barrel's wounds with water, while Lock sat a little ways off, sulking. After the water dissolved into Barrel's skin, she closed her eyes, and made a chair for him out of ice.

"Don't worry, it's not cold!" she soothed, helping him onto the seat.

"Thank you very much...umm?"

"Quex. My name is Quex. The fox's name Quoix." She explained.

"If you don't mind me asking...who and what exactly are you and Quoix?" I asked, questions buzzing around my head like worker bees.

"I'm sorry children, but i've already given you too much information!" She said quickly, as if she was worried she would get caught. "Listen, just keep going the direction you've been going, and you should come across the Holiday Pools in a few hours. I'm sorry, i truly am, but i really have to go now!"

And just like that, Quex dissolved into a trickle of water.

My companions and i shared a questioning glance, checked Barrel's fast-healing wounds, picked up our things, and continued our...bizarre journey.

* * *

A/N: HA!!! I'm leaving you all with a CLIFFY!!! Aren't i evil? Anyways, depending on whether or not this gets uploaded within the next week, you're left with this until late August! HEY! I've actually got a life in the summer (the only time that i do!)! Oh, and sorry about the extremely long wait...i was avoiding doing the fight scene...can anyone out there help me with those??? PLEEEASE!?!?!?? I AM SERIOUSLY LOST ON HOW TO DO A GOOD ONE!!! And, well, we all know that pressures of finals and end of school... 

Ah well! Enough of my excuses! And, i think it's pretty clear what i do and don't own, so...yeah...TOODLES!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

We walked along in silence, not really sure what to say. Our strange encounter with Quex and Quoix left unsolved mysteries that added an extra weight on all of us. What had Quoix meant when he mentioned the sibling rivalries? And how did the two creatures know each other? More over, how did Vendetta find out where we were? And if she was tracking us, how?

I decided to leave these questions unanswered for the time being. After all, what's the point in trying to solve a mystery when there aren't enough clues to finish the case?

So we walked. And walked. And walked. And then we walked some more. Barrel complained of his empty stomach every now and then, but we learned to ignore him. And just as I was about to murder him for whining, Darryl pointed to a cluster of pools.

"There it is! The Christian Holiday Shape!"

We raced each other to where he pointed, looked around, and wondered what the hell it was. I was expecting a rectangle, or an oval, or something like that, but this shape was a little more intricate. The puddles made a connect-the-dot of a large diamond, and a smaller triangle in the diamond's center.

Each puddle had a symbol from its holiday carved out of rock: a colorful egg-shaped rock lay near one point of the triangle. A small Shamrock lay close to a point on the diamond.

And there, completing the triangle, a Christmas tree and pumpkin stood close to their respective pools, the largest bodies of water in the inner-triangle. My breath quickened at how close we were to home.

"Don't get too excited," Darryl said, reading my thoughts. "It may have a pumpkin near it, but that doesn't mean it's the loving land of Halloween that you once knew."

Images of the holiday worlds trying to assassinate their own leaders were pushed out of my mind. I didn't want to think about it. No, I couldn't think about it. It was just too much. So instead, I thought of our mission.

"Alright," I started. "It's high time we go and find Vendetta and beat here sorry ass!"

A whoop of excitement was let out of my companions.

"Vendetta lives somewhere in Christmas Town, so we should start there," Darryl said.

There was a general chorus of agreement, although I saw Barrel glance down nervously at the scars his burns had left. Darryl placed a reassuring arm around Barrel's shoulder, and gave it a squeeze.

"Barrel and I will go first," Darryl said, keeping his arm around Barrel.

"Sounds fine with me," I said, half wishing his arm was around my own shoulder. I need comforting too, you know!

They nodded, and Barrel slipped out of Darryl's grasp. They then proceeded to jump into the body of water, a timid smile on Darryl's face, and a look of sheer terror on Barrel's.

The water didn't actually splash when they went in. In fact, it really just kinda rippled, like the sun did. The ripples continued on to the edge of the pool, where Lock and I stood, staring at them disappear.

A few awkward seconds passed, most of which I spent stealing glances at Lock. I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it.

"Well…Ladies first!" Lock said with a flourish.

"Then I do believe that you should go before me!" I said with my own grand gesture.

His face faltered while I stuck my tongue out at him. He pushed me backwards, but I ended up swerving, and nearly falling into the Halloween Town pool. My arms waved like crazy, as I tried to keep myself from losing my balance.

Surprisingly enough, Lock grabbed my wrist before I made my dive.

He helped me to back to a standing position, and I gave him a confused look.

"What-" but he cut me short.

"I changed my mind. I think we should jump in…together!" His hand slipped from my wrist to my palm, as we stood on the edge of the pool near the Christmas tree. He smiled coyly, as realization sunk in.

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"Who, me? Pft, of course not!" He gave me a knowing look.

"Well it's not like your holding up any better!"

"Oh contraire, fair maiden. As long as I'm not alone on this one, I'm perfectly fine!"

'_Was he just flirting with me?'_

Warm smiles were exchanged. I tightened my feminine hand on his considerably larger, masculine one. Tingles sparked up my arm and back down my spine as we leapt into the clear waters that led us to Christmas Town. Together.

* * *

Guess what…I LANDED ON MY FEET THIS TIME!!! WOO!!! I really AM getting better at this whole 'world-hopping' thing!

Can't say that Lock had any better luck, though. He ended up falling flat on his face. Sadly, because we were holding hands, he ended up dragging me down with him. Can you say 'Awkward situation?' You can? THAT'S GREAT! 'Cause that's the EXACT situation I was in!

See, Lock didn't just drag me down with him. Somehow, I ended up underneath him, with his face in my chest. On top of that, I felt a certain bulge where Lock's crotch was! And let me tell you something, the family that adopted me made sure that I knew EVERYTHING about the birds and the bees, so I was QUITE well aware of what was going through his mind. (Actually, let me rephrase that…what was passing straight through his mind, and taking a one-way trip down to his pants!)

So, reacting on pure instinct, I did the one thing any girl should do in a situation like this; PUNCH HIS FACE IN AND KNEE 'IM IN HIS SPECIAL SPOT!!! (Despite the fact that I didn't exactly mind the situation all that much myself)

"SHIT!! OOOWW!! GODDAMNIT, SHOCK!! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO HIT ME THERE!! THAT WAS NOT COOL! NOT COOL!!" Lock screamed, rolling back and forth in the fettle position on the snow covered ground while blood poured out of his nose. Barrel and Darryl were rolling around on the floor too, but for a different reason; they were laughing! Borderline convulsions! As for me, I'd gotten up after pummeling him, so I dusted myself off and dumped some snow on him.

"Shut up you big baby!" I snarled at him. "You'll draw attention to us! And that's the last thing we want!"

So, using snow to clean up his nose, and a tree as support to get up, he limped his way to where I stood.

"Okay" –he took a big, overly-dramatic sigh- "what do we do now, Miss High and Mighty?"

I scowled at him, and he backed down. I guess he didn't want me to knee him again.

From the looks of it, we'd landed in a clearing in the forest near town. Probably the equivalent of the Hinterlands in Halloween Town.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about where to spend the night," I said, looking up to the beautiful sun that was rising ever so slowly over the snow covered trees. It was the perfect time of morning; when you can watch the sun rise without burning your eyes. The sun was shaped like a Stocking, and the mixture of purple, blue, red, and orange was mesmerizing.

"It's beautiful, ain't it?" Lock asked, hobbling the last few steps to reach me.

"Yeah…" I whispered in awe.

Now, I don't know what the hell got into me at that moment, but I leaned into him, and rested my head on his shoulder.

At first he looked at me warily, not too sure whether this was a trick or not. But, after deciding it was safe, he put his arm around my shoulder, and his head on mine. His tail slowly swished back and forth, just like a content dog, forming a trench behind us in the snow.

I smiled up at him, and he smiled back. It was probably one of the happiest-if not peaceful- moments in my life. And I let it last for as long as I could. I mean, who knew when Lock and I would have a 'special moment' like this again? So I cherished the feeling of warmth that spread through my heart.

I glanced over at Barrel, and was surprised to see him and Darryl cuddling just as Lock and I were. You know, if I didn't know any better, I would've thought that there was something going on between them…

* * *

A/N: Okay, I JUST realized this, but the whole ripple effect sounds an awful lot like Super Mario 64, and I just wanna clarify that I WAS NOT thinking of it when I wrote this! If Nintendo wants credit, it doesn't matter, because this is a fanfic, and I really don't know why they would care, but oh well! Anyways, I just wanted to clear that up real quick. And, while we're on the topic of disclaimers, I don't own ls&b, Christmas Town, OR Halloween Town!

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Complain that there's fluff! I just think it was about time that I added some! Besides, even my profile says that I like to write fluffy fics! So…DEAL WITH IT!!!

Btw, 2 more things. One: really sorry about the temporary hiatus. I was…uh…sorting some stuff out. Not quite done, but hey. This is a good outlet, so I'll stick with it. Two: say hello to the last author's note!...I think…shrugs I'll add one if necessary, but this is pretty much it!

Anyways, BONSOIR!!!


	7. NOTE

Hey readers! Wow, it's been years since I've touched this thing...Time really flies, ne?

Anyways, guys I feel really bad about this, but any other writer can attest to this statement: sometimes the magic's just gone. The appeal of an old story loses its shine after awhile, and I regret to inform you all that that's what happened with this baby. I feel like a neglectful mother, but I just don't feel like I can write anything for this story any more. To keep up pretenses would be to fool you poor readers, SO, in order to make it up to those of you who (like me) HATE to be left with an incomplete story, I'll just tell you what happens, right? I know it doesn't compare, but at least I won't feel so guilty, and you guys won't be pissed at me 8D.

Okay, so I've forgotten a shitload of stuff that was supposed to happen...But I remember the end! So, it turns out that Vendetta was Darryl's sister, and Darryl and Barrel really are gay for each other (because who doesn't love gay guys?). Hehe Shock actually walks in on them at some point, but at least she didn't see anything _too_ scarring. Shock and Lock end up together, and Jack lets them live in Halloween Town on probation (since they saved the day and all). Darryl was going to kill his sister, but Barrel stopped him 'cause he knew his lover wouldn't be able to live with the guilt. Vendetta tries to escape while Barrel's comforting Darryl, but Shock notices and uses her magic to cause a stalactite to fall through her heart (accidentally; she'd been aiming for her legs just to cripple her) thus killing our antagonist. Um...they made some friends and enemies along the way, there was a happy ending, tada!

Okay, so that sucked. But if you have any questions, feel free to send me a message! Not sure if I'll be able to answer them that well, but I'll try my darnedness for you awesome readers!

Again, sorry. ;_;

-Shit, I have no tag line...


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